No 18/15 Michigan State had its first major road test Friday night as it resumed Big Ten play with a trip to Ohio State (receiving votes, AP). Despite being a 2.5 point underdog, the Spartans head home victorious after a 69-62 victory in Columbus.
The win improves MSU 12-2 on the season and 3-0 in Big Ten play. OSU drops to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in league action.
Early on in this game, MSU looked to play inside out. The Spartans were getting post touches in order to score some easy baskets as Jaxon Kohler had MSU's first six points in the game, all of those coming at the rim. While the Spartans were attacking the paint, the Buckeyes were forced into some tough early shots where they had to work hard for everything.
At the first media timeout, MSU held a 6-5 lead and it was already evident the Spartans were going to be relentless trying to score in the paint. Though the Spartans were aggressive going to the rim, they got off to a rough shooting start in this one from 3-point range. MSU started the game 0-for-6, which opened the door for OSU who responded with an 8-0 run that was capped off by a steal and basket by Bruce Thornton. The bleeding was stopped by a tough end of shot clock 3-pointer by Jaden Akins. His basket got the Spartans back to within one with just under 12 minutes left in the first half.
After both teams were trading runs, there was some up and down, back and forth action with the game opening up for both teams. That was especially true for Kohler's frontcourt running mates, Szymon Zapala and Xavier Booker, who were all over the place. Seven points from Zapala and some monster blocks on the defensive end by Booker helped the Spartans take a 26-21 lead with six minutes left in the first half.
One of the big story lines in this game was the play of all Big Ten level guard Bruce Thornton and how high of a level he was playing coming into this game. Jeremy Fears Jr. took the challenge in the first half and had Thornton on the torture rack. Fears held him to just two points which occurred on a breakaway layup. A strong defensive effort and some easy transition baskets down the stretch saw the Spartans take a 37-29 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Spartans were led by Zapala, who was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and had 9 points. Akins chipped in seven points of his own, whiel Fears led the team in assists with four. Defensively, MSU was everywhere in this game, forcing nine turnovers by OSU (a team that averaged just 10 a game coming into Friday's contest), and held the Buckeyes to 37.5% from the field and 14.3% from three.
Coming out of the half, the Spartans, or more specifically Zapala, picked up right where he left off. The senior center went on a personal 6-0 run to give his team a 43-29 lead and force an early timeout for the Buckeyes not even two minutes into play.
Just as the Spartans seemed to have taken control after maintaining a comfortable lead for the early stretch of the second half, OSU went on an 8-0 to cut MSU's lead to just four points with 12 minutes left, forcing a Michigan State timeout.
The Spartans were very careless with the ball during this stretch, which led to easy buckets for the Buckeyes. Out of the timeout, MSU continued to struggle and was unable to get anything to fall on the offensive end, leading to the Buckeyes taking a narrow 50-49 lead with under eight minutes left in the game.
As the home crowd started to get back into the game, the Spartans got back to basics by rebounding and taking care of the ball. The refocused attention worked and MSU proceeded to go on a 7-0 run of its own. From that point on, MSU hit its free throws and came away with a 69-62 win.
The Spartans were led in scoring by Zapala and Akins who had 15 and 14 points, respectively. Kohler led the team on the glass with 10 boards, and Fears led the team in helpers with seven. Just as it has much of the season, MSU also got a nice boost from the bench with 11 points from Coen Carr and nine points from Xavier Booker.
Michigan State returns to the court next against Washington. The new Big Ten opponent will visit the Breslin Center for the first time in history and mark just the second time the two programs will play one another when the Huskies visit on Thursday, Jan. 9. Start time for the game will be at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on the Big Ten Network.
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